You are going to have a little boy or a little girl, and you want to know how you can best prepare to be dad during pregnancy!
5 tips for dads during pregnancy.
1. Be Humble
The reason I say ‘be humble’ is because there will be a lot uncertainties that hit you and a lot of questions you may have to ask in the coming months. There were a lot of questions I had to go to my wife about because she is the woman, her body is changing, and I was no expert in pregnancy at the time. So, I needed to be humble. I had to ask her, “How are you feeling today? It’s the first trimester, you aren’t showing a bump yet, but still, your body is changing… Are you feeling nauseated? Are you throwing up? How are you feeling?” Ask a lot of questions. Take time to be compassionate and caring in all parts of your wife’s pregnancy. Be humble and inquire about her feelings and her day. You want to know, you want to be involved. It takes humility to ask questions to friends, family, and neighbors. Talk to people who have children that are older than you or more experienced because they have been on this journey before you.
2. Be Involved
How can you “be involved”? There are numerous prenatal visits that you should definitely be at with her. Maybe talk to your wife about the ones that are really close together and the doctor just comes in to say, “Hey, how are you doing? Did you pee today? How are you feeling? Great see ya next time!” Maybe your wife can fly solo at those visits. My wife personally did not need me for those quick check-in visits, but the bigger visits I was definitely right there by her side. It was a great time to ask questions, learn, and be involved!
3. Be Understanding
One of the biggest questions men have is… “Can we still have sex?” The answer is ‘yes’. From a health standpoint, it is perfectly fine to have sex during pregnancy (as long as your wife has not been told otherwise by her doctor). There is a mucus plug in her cervix that protects the baby from any bacteria that may try to work its way into the uterus. And it does not initiate labor, though some sites say that it does. Now, it might be that as your wife gets closer to delivery day that she may not want to have sex and that is another area where you can be understanding. Ask her about her preferences. Be willing to talk about it. Remember she might feel sick, she might feel tired, and you might have to go hang out with friends or spend some time with her around the house watching a movie, reading, or taking a walk. Encourage HER! She is growing a child within her, and that is a HUGE deal. Be understanding, appreciative, and be there for her.
4. Be Willing
You are going to be called upon to do a lot. It is much easier for your wife to ask if she knows on the other end of that request there is a willing spirit. So, if you wife asks, “Can you please practice these breathing techniques?”, your response should be “Heck yeah!” NOT “Do I have to… I don’t know, I’m gonna feel so duuumb! I don’t wanna do that.” If you want to be her hero, then DON’T do that. Be excited, be available, and be willing to help her with those breathing techniques. When push comes to shove you are going to be in the hospital, and she is going to need you as her Husband Hero (as I like to call it). Do you want her to look back and either forget you were even in the room, say, “What a tool, he was no help”, or “Wow, he was so willing, he was there for me every step of the way, and I am so grateful!”? Those are your options, man: forgetful, coward, or hero. It is your choice.
Alright now I want to talk about one BIG way you can be willing to help your wife in her pregnancy and birth experience. Take a look at the Pearently Natural Birth online course to help you and your wife get ready for labor and birth. You CAN start this Husband Hero journey by equipping Mom with Pearently to give her all the prep work she NEEDS to be FEARLESS in this journey toward childbirth. Plus she will get support from other Moms in discussion boards! This online class could radically change your family’s birth journey. Click the button below to learn more.
5. Be Praying
Pray for your wife, your child, and yourself. Pray for your wife’s strength, pray that she would be encouraged, pray that she would be full of confidence and power! Prayer is crucial because it supports your wife. It shows that you are not only caring for her with fluffy words, but you are calling on the God of this universe to empower her on this journey. Pray for your child. When I say ‘pray your child’, I don’t mean just pray that the child doesn’t cry a lot, that he/she sleeps through the night, and that he/she never disturbs you. That is just selfish, plus you will probably be disappointed. Be praying for your child’s soul. Be praying that your child would be saved by the love and power of Jesus Christ. God is the one who chooses to love us, God is the one who opens the womb. God does all of these things. So making sure that you are calling on the power of God in your child’s life is instrumental. And it will also encourage your wife that you care so deeply for this child. Pray for yourself that you would be humble, that you would be willing, that you would be understanding, and that you would be committed to this journey with her.
Again, it is your opportunity to equip your wife for this journey. I recommend clicking the link below to check out Pearently!